I recently started volunteering for an organization that prepares meals for people with HIV/AIDS. One morning a week, I help out in the kitchen with whatever they need that day. So far I’ve bagged muffins, made soup, chopped onions and dressed fish. Rumor has it that next week we’ll get to make enough meatloaf to feed a 1000 people. Awesome!
One of the cool things about this volunteer project (other than excessive quantities of meatloaf) is the experience of being a newbie again – not an “expert.” I often work alongside another volunteer who recently retired from a career as a university professor. For the last 40 years she’s been telling others how to do things she is very good at. Now we find ourselves struggling to fill and seal containers properly – while watchful chefs try to remain patient with us. Last week I had to be shown how to use an electric can opener about 15 times before I finally got the hang of it. As frustrating as all this can be, it is also really useful to be reminded how challenging it is to learn new things – even things that seem really simple. I hope that I’ve been half as patient with volunteers in my line of work as these chefs have been with me. (Valerie – no need to comment here).
I’ve also been thinking about listening. This volunteer gig is reminding me that I need to keep working on my listening skills. In my natural state I am a really rotten listener. And it’s an important skill that needs to be developed to be effective at any kind of team activity. In the kitchen it’s pretty hard to cover for the fact that you don’t know whether you’re supposed to fetch eight or 18 tins of tomatoes. And I find that when I let my mind wander and forget to listen that I invariably end up creating more work for myself as well as for those around me. So I’m using the kitchen to practice active listening skills (and to brush up on a bit of Spanish).
Filed under: uncategorized Tagged: | Volunteering
